Extermination
by LoveShinobi-Angelv
Summary: No child should ever have to witness death, nonetheless the death of their parents. How far will Natsumi's hatred take her on her path for revenge? -Rated for Sexual Content-  Akito x Natsumi  Note: An OC story
1. Massacre

**Extermination**

_Chapter One_

-Carnage-

"Mommy, where's Daddy?" a small pink haired girl with sparkling jade eyes asked from her high chair, sticking her fork in the mashed potatoes she'd been given. There was another pink haired girl beside her, both looking exactly alike in every way aside from the slightly depressing demeanor of the silent one.

"Daddy has to work late tonight Natsumi. He won't be home until after bedtime." Sakura told her daughter as she ate dinner with her children. She looked over to her son then, who was an almost mirror image of Gaara, though his eyes were a darker shade of jade. "Toshiro, please stop playing with your food and eat your squash. It's good for you."

The six year old frowned, stabbing the offending vegetable with his knife. "But I hate squash."

"I know, but I only put six pieces on your plate, that's two less than last time." The elder woman pointed out. "So please eat them. It will make mommy happy."

He sighed and looked over at her, an expression seen on her husband's face many times when she got her way. Reluctantly, the boy began to eat the squash while the less talkative twin watched him closely, before picking up her fork and focusing on him once more, attempting to imitate her elder brother.

This made Sakura smile, and she picked up her fork and took a bite of her chicken. "Thank you sweetie." She said.

The family ate together then, the talking being mostly Natsumi asking Sakura odd questions about the things she'd learned for the day. When they had finished, Sakura began to do the dishes as her son led the twins upstairs to help them get ready for bed, since his father had yet to come home.

When she finished the dishes, Sakura put the leftovers away before making her way upstairs. She went into her son's room first, walking over to his bed and sitting on the edge of the mattress. "Goodnight honey." She said softly, brushing some of his bangs from his face.

"Goodnight Mom. Sleep well. I'm sure Dad will be home soon." He nodded, bringing his covers up.

"I'll send him in here to see you when he gets home." She said, leaning over and kissing his forehead. "I love you."

"I love you too." He smiled beautifully and then turned on his side to try and fall asleep.

She rose then and left his room, closing the door behind her before going across the hall to her daughters' room. The twins had identical beds that were next to each other, a single table between them. She walked between the two beds and sat down of the mattress of the elder one. "Goodnight Satomi." She said softly, stroking her daughter's cheek.

"Night Mommy." She said sleepily, staring up at her mother's face and trying to stay awake. "Can we have pancakes tomorrow morning?"

"Of course baby." Sakura smiled. "I'll tell your father when he gets home that that's what you want." She leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. "Now sleep."

She nodded and looked over to her sister before closing her eyes and yawning loudly. "Mommy." Natsumi said softly, shifting her gaze to the elder pink haired woman. "I don't like when Daddy isn't here when we go to sleep."

"Neither do I." Sakura said, moving over to her youngest child's bed. "But he'll be home soon. I'll send him in here to see the two of you when he does. Okay?" she asked, stroking her cheek the way she had Satomi's.

She sighed and turned away from her mother, staring at the wall. "Ok…"

"Goodnight Natsumi. I love you." The elder woman said, leaning over and kissing her cheek. "Sleep well."

"Love you too." She mumbled.

Sakura rose and left then, closing the door to her daughters' room as she left. She walked down to the end of the hall, entering her and Gaara's room. After showering and getting ready for bed, she crawled beneath her covers. Her gaze moved over to the window to their balcony, and she sighed. It was getting pretty late. This was actually the latest that Gaara had stayed at work in a while. "Darling, come home soon." She whispered, before snuggling into the covers and drifting off to sleep.

* * *

><p>Natsumi stirred in her bed and let out an aggravated groan. She couldn't sleep. No matter how hard she tried she could not fall asleep in this house without her father home. So, wanting to feel better, she crawled out of bed and left her bedroom to go to her mother's. She opened the door and peeked inside, listening for the sound of breathing. When she heard it, she ran in and crept over to her father's side of the bed.<p>

After pulling herself onto the mattress she moved closer to her mother and snuggled beside her beneath the covers. Sakura groaned and moved, twisting her body so her front was to Natsumi. "What are you doing out of bed?" she asked sleepily, pulling Natsumi into a protective embrace.

"I can't sleep. I'm scared."

Sakura smiled, and pulled her closer, nuzzling her youngest. "It will be alright. You're always safe in mommy's arms." She assured.

Natsumi smiled and snugged against her mother, already feeling much better. The two fell asleep once more, until Natsumi awoke again, this time in need of the restroom. She slipped from her mother's grasp and got off the bed, going into the bathroom and closing the door. In attempts not to disturb her mother, Natsumi left the light off, the glow from the moon being enough from the window in the bathroom.

She was just about to turn on the sink when she heard a noise from the bedroom. But it didn't sound anything like a sound her father would make, and he was usually silent. Natsumi moved towards the bathroom door and cracked it open, thankful that it made no sound.

But when she peeked through the crack her blood froze in her veins. There was someone in the room and he had not the build of her father, but of someone menacing. Before she could utter out a screech, he pulled out a katana and stabbed down into the bed right where her mother was, over and over and over again.

She tried not to scream, or make any noise. But it seemed to go on forever before he moved away and out the door. The young girl moved further into the bathroom, and as silently as possible, got into the shower and sat down, her arms around her knees as she tried to become as small as she could.

Everything felt cold as she waited there silently, not knowing what to do. And when she could no longer take the solitude and its icy embrace around her, she got up from the tub and looked out into the room. There was no one there, and she could hear nothing from within the house.

So as quietly as she could, she snuck into the room and gripped the sheets, using them to crawl up the bed. Feeling something oddly moist, she lifted one of her hands and in the dim light saw her pale skin stained with something she could not identify. The covers had been pulled over her mother's head, and with much reluctance Natsumi gripped the comforter and pulled it down, her eyes widening at the massacred sight. The sheets around them were soaked with the dark substance, and her mother's white nightgown was tainted with the spots.

"Mommy…" she called hopelessly, moving beside her and gripping her shoulder in attempts to wake her. When she received nothing in response she shook her once more, a bit more forcefully. "Mommy? Please wake up." She called, tears beginning to stream down her face. "Wake up!" she screamed, sobbing out, her tears spilling onto Sakura's blood splattered face.

But she did not wake up, and as the time passed the warmth was slowly leaving her body as Natsumi cried over her, curling against her and trying to keep her warm with her own body as well as the covers.

Natsumi heard the door to the room open and her whole body tensed. Had the man heard her and come back? Fear shot through her and she tried to remain as still as her mother, and breathe as softly as her fright would allow. And when she felt the safety of the covers ripped off, she buried her face in her mother bloody bosom and cried.

"Natsumi?" she heard a familiar voice and looked up instantly to see her father.

"Daddy!" she yelled out, breaking from her mother and wrapping her arms around him in need of any kind of warmth to make this terrible nightmare be bearable. He held her close to him, but his gaze was transfixed on the body behind her.

"S-Sakura…" he said hollowly, his grip on his youngest daughter tightening painfully. When she let out a small noise of pain he tore his eyes from his wife and looked back to her, sorrow the only thing visible on his façade. "Natsumi…I'm sorry." He breathed out, holding her to him tightly as she did the same.

"Mommy won't wake up." Natsumi sobbed out, crying into her father's shoulder. "I tried to wake her up. But she's all wet and cold and she won't stay warm." She choked, trying to wipe away her tears. Gaara pulled away slightly and gave her once over, assessing that she was alright. Then his eyes widened.

"Oh my God." He breathed out, attempting to pick up his daughter and leave.

But Natsumi struggled from his grip and collapsed back beside Sakura, gripping onto her bloodied clothes. "No! We can't leave her all by herself!"

Gaara stared at his daughter and then his wife, trying to remain calm. But he could feel no one else in his house, other than Natsumi. Without a word, he left the room and ran down the hall to his son's room, bursting in to find nothing but a disheveled bed.

He left the room then and went into his daughter's room, seeing both beds empty. "No!" he yelled angrily, tossing the beds and both rooms to make sure they were not just trying to hide. But he found nothing. He came back into his bedroom to see Natsumi still over Sakura's body, trying to right her clothing where the holes were.

"Come on sweetheart. We need to leave." He came over to the bed and attempted to pick her up.

"No!" she screamed, latching onto her mother's body, her face streaked with tears and smeared blood. "We can't leave her!"

The Kazekage tried not to look at the sight and break down. He felt as if his world had been turned upside down and shaken. Two of his children were missing, and his wife was murdered in their bed. Rage overwhelmed him. He needed to find his children, if they were even alive. And he needed to avenge his wife.

Everything he had promised her was worthless. He had said he would always protect her and now she was gone, lifeless in the place where he thought she was safest.

He walked over to the bed and kissed the top of Natsumi's head, "I love you." He told her, getting a nod in return. "I will be back." He assured, moving to his knees and looking over his wife. He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead, running his fingers through her hair. "I will avenge you." The redhead whispered to his lost love before standing and leaving the room.

He would take Temari and go after this murderer, find his children, and kill the intruders. Because they had made a grave mistake by coming after him and his family.


	2. Travesty

**Extermination**

_Chapter Two_

-Travesty-

Uchiha Sasuke stood there in the Hokage's office, staring out the window and looking over the village. "Hurry up dobe, I'm hungry." He complained, looking over his shoulder at the blonde haired man.

"I'm trying to teme, but this paperwork is endless!" Naruto whined, sitting back in his chair. "If I don't finish it now, I'll just have more to do before going home tonight!"

The ebony haired man sighed, though to anyone else it would just look like he had exhaled. He and Naruto were scheduled to go and eat lunch today, as they usually did once a week. It was something his longtime friend insisted they do, so that they never grew apart and could catch up on things. As if they didn't see each other enough. It just so happened that his son was friends with the Uzumaki's daughter, and so the two played quite often. They even had dinner at one another's houses.

But, he didn't argue with the blonde, for he didn't feel like listening to him whine and complain about how important their bond of 'friendship and brotherhood' was. The thought alone caused him to roll his eyes. "Why can't you just get someone else to do the work for you the way Tsunade did?" he asked.

"Because Sakura-chan is all the way in Suna, so she can't do it for me." Naruto stated.

Sasuke gave his friend a hard look. "I know that idiot, I meant find someone else."

"Oh." The blue eyed man blinked. Then he waved it off. "Nah, I don't feel like looking for someone to teach how to do it."

"Idiot." He muttered, turning to look back out the window. Naruto would be done soon anyways, he just hated having to stand here and wait. Because if they were here much longer, someone would come rushing in needing Naruto's help, whether it was signing something, receiving a mission report, or going to a meeting that the elders had scheduled. And Sasuke refused to wait through any of that crap just so they could walk down the street to Ichiraku's and eat ramen.

He heard the sound of the office door opening, and cursed inwardly. Turning on his heels, he was about to yell at the person to get out so that he could eat, but the look on the messenger's face stopped him. "Hokage-sama, Uchiha-sama." The man panted, nodding to each of them. He sat a scroll on Naruto's desk then. "Urgent news from Kazekage-sama."

"Thanks." Naruto smiled, picking up the scroll and unrolling it. He began to read it, the smile slowly falling off his face to be replaced by a look of pure shock. Curious about his reaction, Sasuke walked over and read the scroll over the blonde's shoulders, his eyes widening at the news.

Sakura was dead. Murdered in the night by enemy ninjas, and two of her children stolen from their home. He couldn't believe this. His eyes went to the end of the letter, where Gaara was requesting that he and Naruto travel to Suna for the funeral, and to look after his youngest daughter. Seeing that Naruto had yet to even move, Sasuke spoke up.

"Naruto." He said, getting the blonde's attention. "We must go now."

"Yeah." Naruto nodded, setting down the scroll and standing. He looked at the messenger, who was waiting for a reply. "Tell them that we are on our way." He ordered, now every bit the Kage that he was meant to be. The man nodded and left, off to do his leader's bidding. His cerulean gaze turned to his longtime friend. "I must go tell Hinata-chan about this and gather a few things. Meet me at the gate in twenty minutes." He said before disappearing in a yellow flash.

Sasuke sighed, teleporting to his own home. He went straight to his room and threw together a bag, putting on his ninja gear. His clothing had changed since his return to the Leaf village. Now he wore the standard jounin attire, since he had taken and passed the Chuunin Exams years ago. Tightening his headband, he strapped on his sword and picked up his pack before walking through his house to the training room, where he found his five year old son.

"Akito."

Upon hearing his name, the young boy stopped what he was doing, turning and looking at his father. He had short, spiky black hair, and deep forest green eyes. Many people who saw him said that he was a mirror image of the eldest Uchiha, though Sasuke knew it to be false. For in his son's face, he could see the boy's mother. Especially in his eyes.

"You're leaving." Akito stated, taking in his father's appearance.

"Yes." Sasuke replied. "Sakura has been killed, and I must go to Suna with your uncle for the funeral."

"Is she the lady with the pretty pink hair that I meant that one time?"

A small smile came to Sasuke's face at the way his son remembered one of his best friends. "Yes. I want you to stay here, and follow the standard rules for when I am gone. I should be back by the end of the week, if not sooner."

The ebony haired child nodded. "Yes Father."

"Good." He glanced at the target that his son had been throwing plastic kunai at. "Try loosening up your wrist a bit more upon release. I expect them all to hit the center when I return." He instructed, before turning and walking away.

He left the Uchiha District then, making his way to the village gates. Naruto arrived shortly after he did, and without a word, the two left the village. As they travelled through the forest, both men were lost in their own thoughts about their friend's death. Neither could believe it, for they always thought that one of them would have been the first to go in their trio. Especially given how reckless they were, and the fact that Gaara was extremely protective of Sakura.

Sasuke could sense the anger and despair coming from Naruto the entire trip there. He could even see the small droplets of tears flying from the blonde's eyes when he thought Sasuke wasn't looking. But they didn't speak of it, both too focused on getting to Suna as quickly as possible so that they could be there for Gaara should he need them. For they knew that no matter how badly they were hurting, Gaara was completely broken at the loss of his love.

It only took them two days to reach the Village Hidden in the Sand, since they never stopped to make camp, and only took a few breaks. Entering the gates to the village, they were met by Kankuro, Gaara's older brother.

"Where's Gaara?" Naruto asked, skipping the pleasantries.

"He's not here." The puppet master said, looking grim. "He left about a day ago with Temari to go and track down the killers and try and get Toshiro and Satomi back, if they're even alive."

"What direction did they go in? I'm going to go help them." The blonde declared, looking back out the gates of the village.

Sasuke sighed. "Naruto-"

"No! Don't try and get me to stay! Sakura-chan was one of my best friends, and I'm going to go help track down her killers and get her kids back! So don't you try and stop me!" the Jinchuuriki shouted, tears beginning to leak from his eyes. Then he looked back at Kankuro. "What direction did they leave in?" he repeated.

He frowned but then let out a sigh. "The last thing I heard they were going north, maybe north-east." He said, pointing off in the direction that he'd seen his siblings take off in.

With a nod, Naruto disappeared in a yellow flash, heading in the direction that Kankuro had pointed him in. Sasuke didn't even look to see him leave, simply continuing to stare at the puppet master. "So what now?" he asked, not sounding interested.

"Uh well…I'm not sure. Before Gaara left he told me he had something to give you. So…we can either go to the tower or his house, whichever you're more comfortable with." Kankuro said, his skin pale from his obvious lack of sleep. "Though…I would prefer it not be the house."

"Why?"

"Well." The brunette sighed. "Cause' Sakura's still there…"

Shock actually came to Sasuke's face. They hadn't removed Sakura's body? That was just…wrong. And disgusting. "Take me to the house. Everything there needs to be cleaned up and taken care of, so that when Gaara returns he doesn't have to worry about it."

"Uh…okay. But-"

"Let's just go." Sasuke snapped, glaring at him.

Kankuro nodded and hurried back into the village, weaving through the streets before coming up to a large house that seemed to emanate death. They walked in and Sasuke glanced around the eerily silent abode. It felt even more menacing inside than it did outside. Slowly, the puppet master led him upstairs and to the master bedroom. "Just try not to yell at her." He warned, only making the Uchiha very confused.

Sasuke opened the door and froze at the sight that was before him. The room was cleaned and spotless, all but the bed, which was still a bloody mess with Sakura laying there as she had the night she was murdered. Natsumi was sitting beside her and attempting to brush her hair as if she was readying for the day.

He walked forward and stopped next to the bed. "What…are you doing." He asked, though it was more of a statement.

"I'm helping her get ready. Mommy doesn't like to be dirty." Natsumi said simply, continuing her actions. It was then that Sasuke noticed there was only blood on the clothing that Sakura was wearing, her skin was completely clean. The now bloody towels were even sitting on the edge of the bed.

"She's dead." The Uchiha pointed out, taking in the way Sakura's skin was already beginning to show signs of decay.

Natsumi stopped for a moment, before resuming her grooming. "No she's not. She's sleeping until my daddy gets home." She nodded, remaining eerily calm.

"You need to let us take care of her body." He said. "It's not good to just keep her here."

"She's not dead!" Natsumi screeched, finally looking up at Sasuke, crouching over her mother in a defensive position.

He just stared at her, feeling his old memories coming back to him of when his own family had been killed. "The longer you keep telling yourself that the more it's going to suck when Gaara gets back and tells you the same thing." Sasuke told her. "And Sakura wouldn't want you to keep torturing yourself with keeping her here."

"You don't know what my mommy wants!" Natsumi snapped, glaring at him now with a ferocity that matched her father's. "Just try and take her from me." She said darkly.

"She's already been taken from you by the people who killed her." He told the little girl. "All that you're guarding right now is the empty shell that held her life force."

Something slammed Sasuke against the wall and he could only assume, since he didn't see it with his sharingan, it was the birthright she had inherited. He looked down at the sand holding him like restraints. "Get out!" she yelled, now crying and gripping her mother's night gown in her tiny fists.

He stared at her, searching his mind for her name. He knew Sakura had told him once…but he didn't even know which one this was, since he'd heard that she was a twin. His eyes narrowed as he deactivated his sharingan and studied her. "Natsumi." He guessed, hoping that he was right. "Your mother is dead, and the sooner you accept it, the easier things will be."

The sand around him only constricted as she began to sob, burying her face into her mother's stomach. Kankuro walked in and gasped, he ran over to his niece and gave the Uchiha a scolding look. "What the hell is wrong with you?" he demanded, sitting beside the small girl and rubbing her back in attempts to sooth her.

"Well I didn't yell at her." Sasuke said. "And I think out of all people, I'm the best person to give her advice when someone as important as a mother has been taken from her life. Don't you think?" he asked, giving the other man a hard look.

"Not really!" Kankuro said harshly, continuing his actions, which made the sand slowly fall and release the dark haired man. "She's just a little girl, and you kinda went the wrong way for a long while if you don't recall."

"Whatever." He said, walking over to the edge of the bed where Sakura was laying. "Natsumi."

She didn't respond to him this time and only continued to cry, keeping a tight hold on her mother. Kankuro sighed and looked up at Sasuke before pulling out a folded piece of paper and handing it to him.

Sasuke's brow furrowed and he opened it up, looking over the contents.

_Sasuke,_

_I've gone to track down the people who murdered Sakura. Although unlikely, if I do not come back I need you to watch over my daughter. You are one of the only people I trust with the most precious gift I was ever given and after this, I feel you are the only one who will be able to help her. Before I left, I found out she witnessed the entire ordeal. Please take care of my daughter in my absence and love her. For both Sakura and I. _

_Gaara_

"You bastard." Sasuke cursed, glaring at the paper.

"What?" Kankuro asked.

He wordlessly handed the other man the letter, not wanting to say anything out loud in front of Natsumi.

The Suna shinobi choked a bit. "What? You!" he looked up accusingly.

"Told you I'm the best person." He said. "Though I'm not any happier about it than you are."

"Don't say that." Kankuro growled out, gesturing to Natsumi with his eyes.

He sighed, knowing that he would need to behave himself. She was a child, not to mention a girl. And girls were different than boys. Thank God he'd had a boy. He moved and got on the bed on the other side of Natsumi, who was still crying into Sakura's stomach. They really needed to move her, because she was beginning to smell, and it wasn't healthy for Natsumi to stay in here with the body for much longer. Somewhat mimicking Kankuro's actions, he placed his hand on her head, stroking her head a bit. "It will be okay." He said a bit awkwardly.

Natsumi sniffed and sat up slowly, nothing but misery showing on her façade. "Sh-she can't be dead." She whispered, beginning to sob once more. "Why'd my mommy have to die?"

"I don't know." He replied, continuing stroking her head, since it seemed to comfort her. "Sometimes…people die, and nobody really understands why that had to happen to them. But they aren't really gone."

"Yes she is!" Natsumi screamed, her hands forming to fists as she hit Sakura's lifeless body. "She won't wake up! She won't wake up!" the small girl cried loudly, collapsing once more, but this time into was on Sasuke. She cried into his stomach and wrapped her arms around his waist, her tears soaking through his shirt.

He blinked, looking down at her. Glancing up at Kankuro and giving him an almost helpless look, he placed one hand on her back, and the other on her head in an attempt to return her embrace. "Natsumi, when your mommy made you with your daddy, she put part of herself into you. So part of her will always be alive in you, in your memory, and in your heart."

She shook her head, trembling. "That makes no sense." She sniffed, keeping her face buried. Kankuro, noticing the moment, moved from the bed and slowly slid his arms under Sakura's body, lifting her from the bloodstained bed. At the movement, Natsumi attempted to peek out and went wide eyed. "No! Please don't take her!" she yelled, trying to grab for her mother, only to be stopped by Sasuke wrapping his arms around her waist and keeping her against him.

"Natsumi, he needs to take her so that she can be put to rest." The Uchiha explained.

She began to bawl. "No! You can't leave me alone! Mommy! Please!" Sasuke continued to hold her, beginning to rock in an attempt to make her feel better as Kankuro left the room with Sakura's body, off to get her cremated the way she wanted.

"It's okay Natsumi, you're not alone in the world." He told her.

She just continued to cry, curling into a ball once more, resting her forehead on her knees. "Yes I am…"

"No you're not." He repeated, rubbing her back. "I will always be here for you."

"But you don't live here." She sniffed.

"But whenever you need me, I will be there for you." He told her. "Konoha isn't that far away."

Natsumi just clung onto him then, remaining silent since she felt empty, and wanted nothing more but to wallow. They both sat there for a while, until Sasuke noticed that Natsumi smelled. She probably hadn't bathed since before Sakura had died, especially since nobody had been here to take care of her. "Come." He said, picking her up in his arms before standing. "You need to take a bath, and then eat something." He began to carry her out of the room then.

He took her down the hall and found the bathroom, setting her down before drawing her bath. She wasn't really very responsive, but he didn't care. After bathing her, he dressed her in some clean clothes. Then he put together a bag of her clothes, so that she could stay with him in his hotel room while Gaara was away. She didn't need to stay in this house any longer all by herself.

Once that was done he picked Natsumi back up, since she didn't look like she could walk, grabbed both of their bags, and took her out to eat. He would have cooked for her, but he wasn't very good, and didn't want to wind up feeding her crap. By the time they finished eating, it was getting late, and so they went to the hotel and Sasuke rented out the best suite they had. Setting her down, he put their things over on top of a dresser, before going into the bathroom and showering.

When he came out of the bathroom, Natsumi was still sitting on the bed where he had left her, her knees drawn up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs. She didn't acknowledge him, but he didn't really care. He walked over to his side of the bed and got in, turning off the lamp before lying down and closing his eyes. He stiffened when Natsumi got under the covers with him and lay against his side, but didn't make her move. Instead, he wrapped his arm around her and kept his eyes closed, and the two of them eventually drifted off to sleep.


	3. Regression

**Extermination**

_Chapter Three_

-Regression-

Sasuke sat there, trying not to grimace at the predicament he was in. Currently, he was back at the Kazekage Mansion in Natsumi's playroom. They had gone from playing pretend, to having a tea party. So he was stuck sitting in a chair that was built for a child, wearing a toy crown, sipping invisible tea from a little pink plastic cup.

It had been three days since he had arrived, and Natsumi had been slowly getting better. The first day he had stayed with her, she'd barely talked to him, only answering his questions. The second day she had talked a bit more, and today, he'd even gotten her to smile at him a few times, and laugh. He just hoped that Naruto returned with Gaara and the other kids as soon as possible, because he really didn't know how to deal with a little girl, nor play with one. Heck, that was why he'd had a son, because all he had to do with Akito was train and teach him.

"Princess Natsumi, would you be so kind as to pour me some sugar?" he asked, only addressing her as so because when he didn't she reprimanded him.

"Of course King Sasuke." She said happily, reaching for her plastic sugar holder and spooning imaginary sugar into his cup.

He picked up his own spoon and began to stir the air in his cup. If he was going to pretend to have tea, he was going to do it the right way. "Thank you my lady, you are so kind." He raised his cup to her in a toast before taking a sip, though he was careful not to let it touch his lips. There was no telling how many germs were on this thing.

Natsumi smiled once more, drinking her own tea happily. "No problem." She assured, him sipping her tea and making a satisfied sound. "What do you want to eat King Sasuke? We have some bread." The small girl said, offering him some crackers.

"Of course. What a lovely addition." Sasuke said, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly as he reached over and plucked a cracker from the plate before taking a bite out of it.

She did the same and ate hers very delicately and little by little. "So what do you want to play next?" Natsumi asked once she was finished.

He stared at her blankly. "…there's more things?" he asked, unable to really list any other games in his head that had nothing to do with fighting or proving that you were better than someone else.

"Like hop scotch and jump rope and sand castle." She laughed, sounding carefree. "Airplane, Adventure Mountain, and Dance Party!" she bounced around, waiting eagerly for what he would pick.

He thought about the different options, and decided to go with the one that sounded like it would be less work for him to do. "Sand castle."

"Yay!" Natsumi cheered, jumping up and running from the room as she headed down the steps as fast as she could.

Sasuke stood as well, taking off his fake crown before following the little girl down the stairs and towards the backyard, where a large sand box was. Natsumi sat down in the center and began to take out some pails and shovels for them to build a sand castle. Just as Sasuke neared the box, he sensed two other presences on the property, and stiffened before he recognized them. Silently, he turned towards the back door as Kankuro walked outside with Naruto behind him. And judging by the looks on their faces, they didn't have good news.

He turned back to the pink haired girl then. "Natsumi, I am going to leave you for a little while, but your Uncle Kankuro will play in the sandbox with you, okay?" he asked, after exchanging a look with both of the men, telling them to keep their tidings to themselves in front of her.

"Okay!" she said, waving to her uncle, who looked shocked by her demeanor. He nodded to Sasuke and went over with his niece, sitting with her and helping her pile some sand into the molds she had.

"Come on sweetheart. Let's make a really great sand castle."

Seeing that she would be okay, Sasuke followed Naruto back into the house, closing the back door behind him so that their conversation wouldn't be heard. "So what happened? Did you find them?" he asked the blonde.

"Yeah." Naruto said sadly. "I ran into Temari after about a day of travel. She was on her way back…to deliver Gaara's body." He sniffed, wiping away a stray tear that had fallen.

The Uchiha stood there in shock. Gaara was dead. He had died in his search for his other children. He couldn't believe it. It wasn't possible. "What happened?" he asked a little sharply, still skeptical of the whole thing.

"I don't know the details. Temari was in a hurry. But she said that Gaara died protecting her, and something about there being a lot of water and his sand not being very effective. I offered to bring Gaara's body back so that she could continue her search for Toshiro. She doesn't even know where Satomi is." The Hokage explained, lowering his gaze to the floor sadly.

He wiped a hand down his face wearily, letting out a sigh. "He wanted Natsumi to come live with me, should he die."

Naruto's head shot up and met his gaze, his eyes full of disbelief. "What? Why you?" he asked.

"Because I'm the only one even close to understanding how she's going to feel when she finds out." Sasuke said, pointing out the window to where Natsumi was playing, unaware.

"Makes sense." The blonde said, before sighing. "I just…can't believe that we lost them both…"

"I know." He placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. Then he lowered it. "Where is his body now?"

"In the hospital, so that they can ready it to be cremated and put with Sakura's ashes." Blue eyes wandered over to Natsumi, who was smiling happily as she put a flag in her castle. "What are we going to tell her?"

"The truth." Sasuke said simply, already dreading his next actions as he walked towards the back door. Because if her reaction to losing her mother was as bad as it had been, he could only imagine how bad it would be when she found out that she didn't have any parents at all.

He went outside and over to the sandbox, squatting down so that he was eye level with the pink haired girl. "Natsumi." He said, in order to get her attention.

She looked up at him, a bright smile on her face as she offered him one of her shovels. "Sasuke! You help now?" she asked, taking his hand and giving it a small tug.

The ex-avenger actually felt something stir in his chest at the knowledge that he was about to ruin her newfound happiness. He closed his fingers around her hand, but didn't take the shovel from her. "Natsumi…your father didn't make it back alive." He said softly, searching her face as she took in his news.

At first, she looked the same, until finally her smile fell and she looked very confused. "Huh?"

"Your father is dead." He repeated, though in reality he just wanted to laugh and tell her he was kidding. That Gaara really wasn't dead, just playing a sick joke on them all. But it wasn't a joke. It was reality. A horrible reality.

There was a long silence after that, as Natsumi stared at the dark haired man who'd been taking care of her since her mother's death and her father's departure. Finally, the first tear ran down her face, only followed by more, blurring her vision as she began to sob. She got up and ran past them and then past Naruto, disappearing into the house and then vanishing all together, which made the three men go wide eyed.

"Natsumi!" Kankuro called, standing and running over to the house, trying to locate her.

Sasuke stood from his spot, having a strong feeling about where she had gone. He ran towards the house, Naruto close behind. "She's at the hospital!" he shouted to Kankuro, going out the front door and using his superior speed to get there as Naruto used his flash step, and Kankuro arrived in a puff of smoke.

They went inside then, and Naruto led them down to the morgue, where Gaara's body was being held. Without hesitation, Sasuke entered the room, his eyes spotting the pink haired girl curled up against her father's side on the metal slab his body had been placed on, holding onto his arm as if her life depended on it. "Natsumi." He said sadly, walking over to her and placing his hand on her head.

She didn't move, she didn't even flinch from his touch, which he would have expected. She just cried, holding onto him so tightly that her knuckles were white as snow. He began to stroke her head, just as he had done when Sakura had died. He didn't say anything, knowing that no words were going to be enough to comfort her in this moment.

"I'm sorry kid." Naruto said, giving the entire scene a pitying look.

They all stood there for a while, and eventually Kankuro left to go and get everything arranged for the cremation of both of the bodies. They had embalmed Sakura's once they'd gotten it away from Natsumi, so that they could wait until the redhead's return from his trip to cremate her. But now that they were both dead, they would be burned together.

Sasuke looked up at the clock eventually and noticed that it was nearing dusk. "Naruto." He said, getting the blonde's attention. "Go and send a letter to Konoha, informing them of what has happened. Tell them we will be back after the funeral."

"Right." He nodded, before leaving the room.

Sasuke returned his gaze to Natsumi, and took a fortifying breath. "Come Natsumi, you need to eat something and get some rest." He said, wrapping his arms around her midsection and trying to pull her away from Gaara's body.

Surprisingly, her resistance was minimal, though she held onto her father's hand for as long as she could before it slipped from her smaller one and hit the table with a thud. Sasuke picked her up in his arms, cradling her against his chest as he took her from the room. He took her to the hotel room and ordered some room service. As he waited for it to arrive, he gave her a bath, something he had done every night since arriving in Suna. She just sat there, not saying anything, or even looking at him, just going through the motions.

The food arrived just as he was finishing dressing her for bed, and so he sat with her at the table in the suite and made her a plate. She ate, but it wasn't very much, and she did so slowly. It was almost like she was only doing it because she knew her parents would have wanted her to. When that was finished, he put her to bed and got in with her, though he wasn't tired. But he knew she needed to sleep, and wanting to comfort her, he put his arm around her and held her to his side, hoping that she would recover from this loss eventually.


	4. Parting

**Extermination**

_Chapter Four_

-Parting-

The next day Sasuke got Natsumi up bright and early, and they dressed in their funeral clothes. Then they met everyone at the center of the village, where the funeral was being held. There was a large metal slab in the center of the square, with both Gaara and Sakura's bodies lying on it, each dressed in formal clothes. Temari still wasn't back yet, so Kankuro went up and said a few words to the crowd, Naruto going next, since he was not only the Sixth Hokage, but a close friend to both of the deceased.

Sasuke stood at the front, holing Natsumi's hand as everything went on. She still hadn't spoken to him, but he wasn't going to force her. She was actually handling this a lot better than he thought she would. He glanced down at her face, a stoic mask as she watched her parents' bodies being lit aflame, the only trace of emotion being the tears that were falling from her eyes. He gave her hand a comforting squeeze, before watching the proceedings as well.

They stayed until the bodies had burned to ash, watching as they were put into an urn, so that they were together, even in death. When that was over, the elder Uchiha squat down next to Natsumi and looked into her eyes. "Natsumi, your father's wish was that you come and live with me in Konoha should he die. Is that okay with you?" he asked her. It really didn't matter what she thought though, because she would have to come with him anyways, but he thought he would be polite and ask. The council had already been informed of this, and though they weren't happy about it, there was nothing they could do, since Gaara had left it as his will.

Natsumi just stared at him, before shifting her wet gaze back to the place where her parents had once been, not uttering a word. Knowing that she had heard and understood him, he straightened before bending over and picking her up, carrying her away from the site and back to the mansion. He sat her on her bed, before moving and beginning to pack up all of her clothes. Once that was finished, he went throughout the house and grabbed a few of the pictures that he thought she might want, and that he could tolerate being in his home.

Everything packed, he went back upstairs, seeing that Natsumi hadn't even moved from her spot on the bed. He picked her up once more, grabbing all of the bags and teleporting to his hotel room.

The rest of the day went on much the same, with Sasuke getting things ready for the journey back to Konoha the next day, and Natsumi just sitting on the bed silently. He bathed her once more, since it would be a while before she would get another one, and then they went to sleep, him holding her in an attempt to lessen her pain.

The next morning they left Suna without a hitch, Sasuke carrying Natsumi on his back, and Naruto carrying the bags with her clothes. It took them three days to get to the Leaf Village, and once they did, Sasuke set Natsumi down and took the bags from Naruto.

"I'll see you tomorrow and we can talk about how things went." Naruto told him. "I need to go and tell Hinata-chan about everything, and sort some things out at the Tower."

"Okay." The Uchiha said, taking Natsumi's hand and leading her through the village towards the Uchiha District.

"I will show you around the village some other time." He told the pink haired girl. "But my house is located in a separate part of the village."

Like always, she didn't respond to his words, though he knew she heard him. They walked through the village, some of the villagers whispering and pointing at the pair in speculation. They eventually entered the Uchiha Prefecture, and walked a bit more until reaching a traditional looking house.

"This is my home." Sasuke informed her, leading her inside. Shortly after entering, the sound of running feet could be heard, and Akito entered the living room.

"Father! I can hit the middle now!" the little boy declared, stopping before them. Then his deep green gaze fell on Natsumi, and his brow furrowed in confusion. "Who are you?" he asked.

Natsumi stared at the boy before looking back up at Sasuke wordlessly, the silent question swimming in her almost dead gaze. Sasuke met her gaze, before looking back at his son. "Akito, this is Natsumi, Sakura and Gaara's daughter. She's going to be living with us from now on." He said, before looking back at Natsumi. "Natsumi, this is my son, Akito."

She stared back at Akito, taking in his form and assessing everything about his appearance, but still she said nothing, which wasn't surprising. He just smiled at her. "Hello!" he waved, before looking back up at his elder. "Why is she living with us?"

"Because her family is gone." Sasuke explained, hoping that that would be enough to quell the boy's interests.

Oddly enough, it was. As if sensing that the subject was off limits, Akito didn't say another word. Instead, he came forward and gave Natsumi a hug, patting her back lightly. "I'm sorry." He said softly.

Sasuke just stood there and watched the two, not surprised by the gesture in the slightest, because his son hated to see girls cry or upset. He guessed that it was due to him being best friends with Naruto's daughter, because that girl cried a lot. It may be an exaggeration on his part, but he just didn't think all those waterworks were necessary when you fell down and scraped your knee, or when there was no instant ramen left in the house. It was just ridiculous.

Akito pulled away then, and grabbed her other hand gently. "Do you want to see my room?" he asked her. Natsumi stared at him and then down to their joined hands, before looking back at Sasuke. When he nodded, she mimicked and allowed Akito to pull her forward and down the hall of the traditional Japanese style house.

Leaving them to their own devices, Sasuke picked up the bag with Natsumi's things and headed down the hall that the kids had gone down. He went to the room across from Akito's, deciding that this one would be good enough to use for Natsumi's room. He unpacked all of her things, even going so far as to set her pictures up on one of the shelves. It would have to do for now, until she asked him for any toys that she might want to add to the mixture. He supposed he would have to have a sand box put into his backyard as well, so that she would feel somewhat at home.

When that was done, he glanced into his son's room. Seeing that both children were preoccupied, he left to go to his study in order to think.

* * *

><p>"And that is where I'm going to put my sword." Akito said, pointing to the top of his dresser, which was empty. "I don't have one yet, but when I'm old enough my father is going to teach me." He told her, smiling.<p>

Natsumi stared at where he was pointing, looking somewhat interested as she then scanned around the rest of the room, taking in all its features. There was a bed, small enough for him, and a shelf with a few pictures and knick knacks on it from his life. And there was a bookshelf that was loosely filled with all different kinds of books.

There was a loud knock at the front door and the dark haired boy smiled. "Oh, that's my friend. I think you'll like him. He's funny, but a little annoying, cause' he talks a lot. But that's okay, since you don't talk at all, he can make up for it." He said, taking her hand and walking with her to the front of the house once more, before sliding the door open to reveal a tall brunette with red marks on his face. He was dressed in black, his jacket crossing over his front and clinging to his form.

There was a boy looking very similar to him, his brown spiky hair mussed a bit, no doubt due to his mother. But unlike the man, he had deep sapphire blue eyes that sparkled with interest. "Bye Dad!" he waved, running in.

"Pick you up later Haru." Kiba called after him, giving Akito a nod before waving off and heading back home with his massive white dog behind him.

The brown haired boy ran in, smiling happily. "Akito! Yo yo yiggity…whoa." He stopped, going wide eyed at the sight of the pink haired girl. "Who are you?" he beamed, leaning uncomfortably close to her, forcing her to move back in her nervousness, which was clearly portrayed on her face.

"Back up Haru, you're making her uncomfortable." Akito frowned, pushing the little boy back a bit. "This is Natsumi. She's going to live with me and my father, and I'm going to take care of her." He declared proudly, pulling her closer to his side.

"Sorry, sorry." He waved his hands in a placating manner. Natsumi just stared at him, slightly alarmed from his energy and moved closer to Akito. He looked so much like Sasuke, she could find some source of assurance from him. "I didn't mean to scare you." Haru told her. "My name's Haru." He offered his hand in a more calm way.

Natsumi looked down to it and took it in her own before retreating back against Akito's side. "It's okay Natsumi, Haru may be a little weird, but he won't hurt you." Akito assured her, patting her hand with his free one. "He's nice."

"What's wrong with her?" the brunette blinked. "Can she not talk?"

Akito glanced at her, before leaning towards his friend, so that his mouth was next to his ear. "Her family is gone, so we're taking care of her. I think she's in shock." He whispered. "So don't talk about it."

He nodded and met Natsumi's gaze once more. "Well I promise you will like it here Natty! We'll be good friends and play tag and eat strawberries."

"So what do you want to do?" Akito asked, looking at the pink haired girl. "Do you want to play tag? Hide and seek?"

She just shrugged, not looking interested in either of the activities. Haru tapped his chin, "Girls like to color don't they?" he asked, looking to Natsumi. She still looked the same, but Haru's smile only grew. "I think we should color!" he declared.

"I got some new coloring books the other day!" Akito said, leading Natsumi back to his room as the brunette followed. He let go of her hand when they were in the center of his room, placing his hands on her shoulders and lightly pushing her to the ground. "You sit here." He instructed, before moving over to one of his bookshelves.

He pulled out about five coloring books, piling them in his arms before grabbing his box of crayons, which had over one hundred colors. He walked back over to Natsumi, setting down all of the supplies before taking a seat next to her, Haru sitting across from them, completing the circle. "Okay, I have a dog book, a kitty book, a fairy tale book, a monster book, and a ninja book." He said, spreading them all out so that she could see. "You can pick first."

Natsumi looked over the offered books and pulled the fairy tale book towards her, opening it up to look for a picture she wanted to color. She stopped on one of a prince and a princess dancing on a patio with a garden around them, so there were plenty of flowers to fill in. "That's a good choice." Akito said, grabbing the ninja book and beginning to leaf through it.

Haru took the dog one and started coloring one with puppies. Natsumi took the pink crayon and the red one and began to color in the hair of her picture, giving the princess the pretty pink and the prince the red. She moved to their eyes, picking a dark green and a pale jade before coloring the outfits in the colors she associated with her parents. Akito glanced over at her picture from his own, taking in all of the details.

"Is that your mother and father?" he asked, his gaze inquisitive.

Natsumi looked up and then back down to her picture and pointed to the pink haired girl. "It's my mommy and daddy." She said softly, pointing to the redhead, her gaze turning extremely sad as tears swelled in her eyes and began to fall, hitting the paper.

The young Uchiha's eyes widened and he dropped his crayon, moving over to her and wrapping his arms around her. He pulled her closer to him and began to rub her back. "It's okay Natsumi. I'm here." He said softly, rocking a bit to comfort her. "You're not alone."

Haru moved beside her as well, placing his hand on her back and leaning forward. "Don't worry. It's okay to cry. It helps the sadness to turn to something easier. My mom said so herself." He nodded.

Natsumi just cried, letting the tears fall down her face, feeling all the ache from before once more. She missed them so much. Why were they gone? All of them. In nothing but a night her brother and sister had been taken from her, her mother murdered, and now her father was dead. She didn't understand. Her mother had always told her stories of happy endings and love. How one day she would find a prince charming and live happily ever after. Being together forever with her family and everyone she loved.

But there was no longer anyone she loved left. They were all gone. And even her aunt was nowhere to be found. She had nothing, and that was exactly how she felt, empty and alone in this abnormally green place. It was cold and colorful, and the people stared at her as if she had a second head. She hated it. She wanted to be with her parents, and even had thought of letting herself stay with them as her uncle let their bodies' burn together. At least that way she would be with them, even if she didn't understand the pain of fire and death.

Akito continued to hold her, rubbing her back and rocking back and forth. "It's okay." He repeated, laying his head on top of hers. "It's okay."

She just continued to cry, before pulling herself out from their grasp and hurrying from the room. Haru sighed and looked to Akito, both looking upset. "Did her mom and dad die?" he asked his friend.

The dark haired boy shrugged, letting out a sigh as he got up, followed by Haru as the two boys went back to Sasuke's study. Akito knocked on the door, and when they heard Sasuke allow them in, they went in together. "Sasuke, did Natty's mom and dad die? Cause' she was coloring a picture and all of a sudden started crying and then left." Haru said, pointing out the door to the room.

The elder Uchiha sighed. "She watched her mother die, and her father left to go and retrieve her older brother and twin sister, who were kidnapped by her mother's murderers. Then her father was killed protecting her aunt, and nobody knows whether her siblings are alive or not." He told the two boys. "That is why she is living with us. So that she can be taken care of."

"Well that stinks." Akito said, a sad look coming to his face. No wonder she was so quiet. She felt alone. "No wonder she's so unhappy."

Sasuke rose from his seat and walked over to the two boys. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it." He said, leaving the room. Akito and Haru followed him out to the backyard, standing in the doorway and watching. Sasuke walked over to where Natsumi sat, which was a bench by the koi pond. He picked her up and put her in his lap as he sat down where she had just been.

"Natsumi, you are not alone." He told her, wrapping his arms around her in a comforting embrace. He knew that she must be feeling alone, for that was how he had felt when his clan was taken from him. He didn't have anyone there for him, and had gone on the wrong path, so he wanted her to know that he would be there for her.

She leaned against him, staring out at the fish, remaining quiet, though he could tell by the redness and puffy state of her eyes that she'd just finished crying. "Akito and I will always be here for you." He said, stroking her hair.

Seeing that they weren't needed, Akito and Haru went back inside and colored pictures to make Natsumi feel better. Kiba came by just before dinner, waving goodbye to the young Uchiha before heading out. Akito went back and checked on his father, but he and Natsumi hadn't moved from their positions. So he went and made everyone dinner like he always did.

Dinner itself was a quiet affair, nobody really talking. Natsumi because she was too depressed, Sasuke because he never talked, and Akito because he was just following what the other two were doing. When that was over Sasuke took Natsumi back to the room that would be hers, getting her ready before leaving to check on Akito, who had been washing the dishes.

His son was in his room, already beneath his sheets with his light off. He closed the bedroom door then, before going down the hall to his room, intent on getting a good night's sleep, as his entire day had been pretty long and exhausting.

* * *

><p>Natsumi sat in her bed, looking around the room. It had been nearly an hour since Sasuke left her in here, and she was surprised. Not that he was no longer sleeping in the same bed as her, but he hadn't even said goodnight, which was something foreign to her. He'd been with her every night so far, and her mother had done that before she died, even her father. So she waited, just in case he was busy, but when he still didn't come she crawled from her bed and went over to the shelf in her room.<p>

Sasuke had placed some of Akito's more feminine story books in her room for her to read should she choose. Though what he didn't know was that she didn't know how to read yet. She picked one of the ones with a pretty cover and pulled it out before leaving her bedroom and making her way down the hall to his room.

Without so much as knocking she slid open the door and came in, shutting it behind her and getting the attention of the eldest Uchiha immediately. She walked over to the bed and grabbed onto the covers to aid herself as she climbed on top with him. She crawled over the bed to him and sat down next to him, placing the covers over her legs and then setting the book in his lap.

Sasuke glanced at the book, before looking at her. She wasn't serious, was she? He had to read her a bedtime story? He never read anyone bedtime stories. Not even his own kid. And yet here she was, demanding it of him with her silent demeanor and big eyes. Damn this little girl and her inheriting Sakura's features and Gaara's eyes. How could he say no to that?

With a sigh, he sat up, grabbing the book as he situated himself. Natsumi then curled up against his side, waiting for him to read her the story. He opened the book, revealing a page full of bright colors and fairies, and began to read. Before he could even finish the story, Natsumi had fallen asleep against him. He sat the book aside, before carefully picking her up in his arms and carrying her back to her room. After tucking her into her bed, he turned on the nightlight that he had bought her, since he didn't want her to get scared if she woke up in the middle of the night.

Assured that everything was okay, Sasuke left her room, closing the door behind him before going back to his room and collapsing on his bed. He didn't really know how things were going to go with Natsumi living with him in his home, but he did know one thing. He had a lot to learn in the ways of taking care of a little girl.


	5. Healing

**Extermination**

_Chapter Five_

-Healing-

Sasuke looked up from the book he was reading, his brow furrowing slightly at the sound he could hear coming from the other end of his house. It sounded…almost foreign. Marking his place, he set his book aside before standing, leaving his study and walking stealthily towards the noise. He discovered that it was coming from Akito's room, and when he reached the door he peeked in, wondering what was going on.

His eyes widened slightly at the sight before him. There was Akito, holding a stuffed lion in his hand as he chased Natsumi around, making growling noises. But that wasn't what the odd noise had been. The noise was coming from Natsumi, who was running from his son, a bright smile on her face as laughter came out of her mouth. She was laughing.

He hadn't heard her laugh since they had been back in Suna, before Gaara had wound up dead. A small smile came to the elder Uchiha's face as he turned and walked back down the hall. He was glad that his son could help her reclaim a bit of happiness. She hadn't really spoken much the first day she'd been here, and the next day only uttered a few words. Yesterday she had come up to him and asked him a question, but after he had answered it, she'd gone back to being mostly quiet, though he was sure that he had heard her speaking softly to Akito.

Having her in his house was definitely different. He had another mouth to feed, more toys brought in, taking up space, and every night he had to go tuck her in to bed and read her a story. After that first night he had realized that Gaara and Sakura had probably done something similar to this for her every night before they had died, and he didn't want things to change for her so drastically. But he didn't want her to have to come into his room every night and just pass out, so he would sit with her in her bed and read to her until she fell asleep.

Just as he was about to enter his study, there was a knock on his front door. He walked over and opened it, seeing that it was one of Naruto's messengers. "Sasuke-sama, Hokage-sama needs to see you." The brunette man informed him.

"Hn." He said in reply, closing his front door and travelling with the messenger to the Hokage Tower, wondering what it was that Naruto needed him for.

* * *

><p>"And this, Natty, is how you hold a kunai." Akito said, placing one of his plastic kunai in Natsumi's hand and forming his hand around her own to show her how to hold it. "See?" he asked, looking into her eyes.<p>

She nodded, forming her hand the way she had seen him do so. "Akki, how come these aren't shiny like Sasuke's?" she asked, looking back up at him.

"Because they aren't real kunai." He told her, reaching out and adjusting her hand a bit. "My father didn't want me to hurt myself, so until I can use them really, really good, he won't get me real ones." He explained. "But that's okay, because I'm the only one out of my friends that even has these. They don't know how to use kunai yet, cause' their parents are just gonna let them learn at the Academy."

"How come you're learning so early?"

"Cause' I'm an Uchiha." He declared proudly, his chest puffing out a bit. "And Uchihas are the best at everything they do. And since I'm going to be a ninja like my father, I have to start learning things early so that I'm ahead of everyone else. I even know how to read all by myself." He told her with a smile.

Natsumi stared at him in awe of this new information. "I wanna learn how to read." She smiled, all previous lessons he'd been trying to teach her with the kunai gone from her mind.

"Okay! I'll teach you." He said, taking the kunai from her and setting it down. He walked over and searched his bookshelf. He eventually pulled out a book that he had used to begin to read, because the words were fairly simple. Then he walked over next to his bed and plopped down on the floor. Natsumi came and sat next to him, and he opened the book up, beginning to read it to her slowly and pointing at each of the words, so that she would know what the word looked like with what he was saying.

This was the scene that greeted Sasuke when he came back from the Hokage's office. It took a while for the two children to notice his presence, and when Akito saw that his father was wearing his Anbu uniform, he frowned. "You have a mission?" he asked, meeting his elder's dark gaze.

"Yes. I will be gone for a few days." Sasuke told the both of them. "Standard rules apply. Akito, you can explain them to Natsumi, okay?"

"Yes father." He nodded.

"Wait." Natsumi said, her blissful demeanor falling off her face and replaced with one he'd seen before. "You're leaving?" she asked, absolutely horrified.

"Yes." He told her. "But I won't be gone long, and I'm not going very far. Everything's going to be fine Natsumi. Akito will be here to take care of you."

She shook her head vigorously. "No! You can't leave!" she yelled, getting up and running over to the elder Uchiha. She latched onto his leg and held on tightly, beginning to cry. "If you leave you'll die!"

Sasuke stooped over and picked her up, holding her against his side. "Natsumi." He said softly, brushing her tears from her cheeks with his thumb. "I'm not going to die. I go on these missions all the time, and I always come back." He told her. "Besides, it isn't a very dangerous one. I promise."

Natsumi sobbed out again. "I don't want to be alone again."

"You won't be alone." He said. "Akito will be here with you, waiting for me to come back as well."

The young Uchiha stood and walked over to them, reaching up and patting the pink haired girl's leg. "Yeah Natty, you and I can play together while we wait. My father always comes back. And if he goes to a different land, he might bring us something!" he said, trying to cheer her up.

She sniffed, still not eased, but released him from her tight hold. The elder Uchiha set her down on the ground, brushing some of her hair from her face. "I will come back, don't worry." He said, kissing the top of her head before turning and leaving the room.

Akito frowned at the gesture. It was weird, his father never did anything like that to him when he was leaving. Was it because Natsumi was a girl? Was that why she was treated differently? Shaking those thoughts off, he turned and looked down at her. "Do you want to finish the book?"

Natsumi ran over to Akito, wrapping her arms around him in a desperate embrace. She buried her face in his chest and nodded the best she could. He smiled slightly, and wrapped his arms around her in return. "It's going to be okay Natty." He soothed, laying his head on top of hers and rubbing her back. "I'm here for you whenever you need me."

She gripped onto his shirt, allowing herself to cry once more at the sadness that filled her. He continued to soothe her, though they stood there so long that he was beginning to get bored. Why did she cry so much? His friend Minako cried sometimes, but never for this long. Maybe girls weren't all the same, as he had previously thought. And if him trying to comfort her wasn't really doing a whole lot, maybe all she needed was some comfort food. He remembered Haru saying once that when his mother was upset she ate chocolate. But they didn't have anything like that here, so he settled for the next best thing. "Do you want me to make you some chocolate milk?" he asked her.

"Yeah." Natsumi said softly, keeping a firm hold on him.

"Okay, come on." He said, releasing her. When she kept her arms around him, he leaned his head down enough so that he could see her face. "Natty, if you want chocolate milk, you're going to have to let go so that I can walk." He told her, giving her a small smile.

She nodded and tentatively released him so that he could move. He took her hand in his own, before leading her towards the kitchen. Once they entered, he released her hand and took out the proper things to make Natsumi a glass of chocolate milk. As he stirred it all together, he looked over at her. "Natty, you don't have to worry about a thing while my father is gone." He smiled. "We can play and hang out just like we usually do. And I'll cook all of our meals, and make sure we get to bed on time. It'll be fun."

"Okay." She nodded, sitting in the chair she had designated for herself at their table.

He finished the drink and handed it to her before rinsing off the spoon and putting everything away. Then he walked over and sat next to her. "Are you feeling better now?" he asked, looking at her with concern.

She nodded her head once more, the glass at her lips as she drank the contents until they were all drained. "Mhm. I think I'll be okay as long as you're with me." She smiled, setting the glass on the table.

"That's good." He returned her smile. "You're really pretty when you smile Natty. It makes me happy."

Natsumi's happy façade faded and she looked back down. "My daddy always told me I had my mom's smile."

Akito's smile fell off his face and he got out of his chair, going over to her and taking her hand in his once more. "It's very pretty." He said. Then an idea hit him, and he decided it would be good for her to get some fresh air. "Come on, I'm going to take you outside."

She got down from the chair and allowed him to pull her out of the kitchen. "Should I change into something else?"

He shook his head. "No, you look fine." He said, stopping by the front door do that they could slip on their shoes. "Besides, I'm just going to go and introduce you to all of my friends, because I want them to be your friends too."

"But what if they don't like me?" she asked, sitting down on the wood and pulling on her shoes. "My dad always said people from Konoha didn't understand us who lived in the desert. He said they were weird and insane."

"Well, they are all very weird, but I doubt that they won't like you." He assured her, giving her another smile. "There's just no way someone couldn't like you Natty. You're too cute." He finished putting on his shoes and stood then.

For the first time, a dark red blush covered the young girl's cheek. "R-really?"

"Yeah." He said, before realizing that the words had left his mouth. A blush made its way to his face, as other thoughts entered his head about how she looked even cuter when she was blushing. "At least, I think so." He said softly, embarrassed at was he was revealing to her. He needed to try and control himself and appear unaffected by her blush. He needed to try and act like his father. Only it wasn't working right now.

Her smile returned and she stood once she was ready and hugged Akito tightly. "I think you're really cute too Akki!" she beamed.

This only made his face darken as he returned her embrace. "Thanks Natty." He said, glad that he had gotten her to smile once more. He pulled away then, a bit uncomfortable with the prolonged contact. "Now let's go show you off to the village."

"Okay!" she beamed, this time pulling him with her and out the door. "I haven't left the house since I got here!"

His smile returned at her enthusiasm. "Well, let me show you the way to get out of here, and tomorrow I'll show you around the entire Uchiha District." He said, tugging her towards the left. "If you want."

"That sounds good. I should learn everything about this place since I'll be living here for the rest of my life after all."

Akito stopped then, just as they reached the gates that would take them out into the village. "Will you really stay here for the rest of your life?" he asked. "With me?" the thought of her always being there, it was kind of nice. He wouldn't be alone when his father went away on missions, and his life wouldn't seem as empty. Because he would have someone to take care of.

"Where else would I go?" she wondered, lacing her fingers with his.

He smiled. "Well, I was just checking." He said. "Cause' sometimes when people get older they go other places to live."

"Why would I go live somewhere else?" she blinked, growing utterly confused. Akito simply laughed, pulling her out with him into the bright and colorful village.

He took her through the streets, noticing the looks and whispers that he and Natsumi were receiving from the villagers, but choosing to ignore them. Eventually they came upon another set of gates. "This is the Hyuuga District." He told her. "My friend Ryo lives here, and his cousin, Minako, is one of my best friends. Her father is the Hokage, and she comes here sometimes to play." He explained, before knocking on the gate. A guard came up and opened the doors, peering down at the two.

"Yes?" he asked, sounding formal.

"Are Minako and Ryo here?" Akito asked, clearly showing that it was normal for him to come here. "I want to introduce them to Natty." He gestured to the pink haired girl next to him.

The man's pale eyes looked from the young Uchiha to the girl, before nodding. "They are in Ryo-sama's family garden." He said, opening the door wider.

"Thank you." He said, pulling Natsumi forward and into the prefecture. It was similar to the one Akito lived in, but seemed a bit more tranquil. They went straight into a beautiful garden, where they found two kids. One was a little girl with ebony hair pulled up in a short pony tail, and bright blue eyes. The other was a little boy with long chocolate colored hair that fell to his shoulders. Currently, they were sitting on the grass, and the girl was braiding the boy's hair.

Akito laughed at this and stopped next to them. "Mina, what are you doing to Ryo?" he asked, though the answer was obvious.

"Hi Akito-kun!" the little girl smiled brightly looking over at him. Her gaze fell on Natsumi then, and she paused in her task. "Who are you?" she asked inquisitively.

Brown eyes looked over as well, seeming interested. "Is she your girlfriend?"

The Uchiha's eyes widened, and a small blush appeared on his face. "No! She's just staying with me and my father." He said, beginning to recover. "Her name is Natsumi. Natsumi, this is Ryo," he gestured to the brunette, before turning her attention to the girl. "And this is Minako."

"Hi!" Minako said, still smiling. "It's nice to meet you Natsumi-chan. Do you want to help me braid Ryo-nii-chan's hair?" she asked.

"Not really." She sighed, not trying to be rude, but she wasn't that comfortable with new people yet.

"Why is she staying with you?" Ryo asked, getting up and helping his cousin to her feet.

"Um well…because it's where I'm going to live now." She frowned, looking down.

He looked between the two. "Are you going to marry Akito? Is that why you're moving in with him?"

The ebony haired girl gasped in delight. "That would be so wonderful!" she clapped her hands together. "You guys would look great together."

Akito's blush darkened slightly, but he gave Natsumi's hand a comforting squeeze. "Natsumi lost her parents, so my father and I are going to take care of her."

Minako's smile fell off her face, to be replaced by a sad one. She had heard a little about this from her dad, but she hadn't paid it a whole lot of mind. "Oh, well," she walked up to the pink haired girl and took her free hand, giving her a small smile, "Akito-kun and Sasuke-san are really nice, I think you'll like living with them. And you and I can be best friends." She said, wanting her to feel a bit happier.

Ryo came up behind his cousin and looked over her shoulder at the girl. "I'm sorry." He apologized, giving her a small smile. "I'm glad you got to come here. Konoha is a lot of fun, and whenever you're bored of this lamo here you can always come and hang out with us." He smirked, nudging his dark haired friend, who was still a bit red.

Natsumi finally smiled slightly, "Thanks. I'd like that a lot." She nodded, giving Minako's hand a small squeeze.

The other girl's smile widened. "Well, do you want to play with us?" she asked, before reaching over and brushing her fingers through her younger cousin's hair, getting rid of the braid. "Nii-chan is probably tired of me playing with his hair anyways."

"Yeah, because it's girly." Akito pointed out, causing Minako to stick her tongue out at him.

"Well I like to make Mina happy is all. Nothing else." He explained, crossing his arms over his chest.

Akito just shrugged, not really caring. "I was going to take Natty around the village to meet everyone. If you guys can come, you're more than welcome to."

Ryo shook his head. "Nah, we've got Gentle Fist training today with my father."

Natsumi perked up at this, seeming very interested. "What's that?"

"The taijutsu of my family line." An older man said, walking out onto one of the wooden porches. The children looked over to see a brown haired man, his long locks falling over his shoulders. He was dressed in a loose kimono, his arms folded into the sleeves. "You," he gestured to the young girl. "The one with the pink hair. You are Gaara and Sakura's daughter, correct?" he asked, stepping out onto the grass and walking towards them.

She stared up at the man, looking him over and nodded. "Um yes…they both died."

"I know." He said softly, his expression shifting into one of sadness, his milky eyes taking on a look of grief. "They were good friends of mine." There was a silence then before the man let out a low sigh. "My name is Hyuuga Neji. Why don't you come with me for a moment. I have something of theirs I want you to have."

Natsumi took her gaze off of him and looked back to Akito, as if asking permission. "It's okay Natty." He said, giving her a small smile. "I'll wait for you out here."

"Okay." She smiled and took Neji's hand as he led her back into the house.

The three in the garden watched her go, all curious as to what the elder Hyuuga was going to give her. Natsumi came out a little while later, seeming to be a bit happier. Neji followed after her, since he was about to begin training Ryo and Minako. "Ready to go meet more people Natty?" Akito asked, holding his hand out to her.

She smiled up at him and ran over to the young Uchiha, shoving a picture in his face. "Look Akki! Look how happy they look!" she said happily, pointing to the smiling faces of her parents. It was a picture, one with the pink haired woman and the redheaded male. Neji, as well as his wife Tenten were in it as well, along with Minako's parents.

He blinked, before taking in all of the faces. He studied those of her parents, remembering them only slightly, since he had met them once, but it was a long time ago. He smiled slightly and looked down at her. "Your mom was very pretty. You look kind of like her." he complimented.

"I know." She beamed, pulling it back to her and cradling it. "Cause' I have pink hair and all, right?"

"Well that, but I meant your smile too, and other stuff." He shrugged, beginning to grow embarrassed. "Come on, let's go."

She giggled, placing the photo carefully away in her pocket. "Alright. Bye Minako! Bye Ryo! Bye Neji-sama! And I would love for you to teach me." Natsumi looked determined and then headed off in front of Akito.

He followed her, taking her hand once more as they exited the Hyuuga District. He led her through the village, searching for his friends. Along the way he told Natsumi about all of the places they passed, and where she could go for certain things. Although obviously he would go with her around the village, since he didn't want her to be alone. They heard a loud ruckus then as they neared the park, and out of curiosity, they entered to find the source of the noise.

It turned out to be a group of three boys, all seated under a willow tree by a pond. One of them had bushy black eyebrows, his hair equally as dark and cut in the shape of a bowl, with jagged edges. Another had light, spiky brown hair and equally as light eyes, while the third boy had short dark hair that spiked in the front, and a pair of sunglasses covering his eyes. At the moment, the boys each had a pile of empty pocky boxes next to them, the piles different sizes due to how many boxes each one had completed. And, judging by the fact that they were all shoving more pocky into their mouths, Akito surmised that they were having an eating contest. Again.

He led Natsumi over to them, but decided to wait until they were done before introducing her. Finally, all of the boxes had been eaten, and the boy with the light brown hair stood up and threw his hands in the air. "Ha! I won!"

"You always win." The other brunette whined, clutching his stomach. "I couldn't eat another bite even if I tried."

"So much youth was used in our contest guys!" the ebony haired boy smiled happily. "This is why we hold one as often as we can, no matter who wins or loses. Because in the end, we're all winners!"

Akito decided to speak up then and make his presence known. "Ken, you really sound like a weirdo when you talk about youth you know." He sighed. All three boys looked over to the Uchiha, before looking at Natsumi.

"Who is that radiant beauty?" Ken asked, his eyes wide in awe.

"This is Natsumi. She's from Suna, and is going to live with me." Akito declared. "That's Rock Ken," he pointed to the boy, before pointing at the winner of the contest. "Akimichi Kazuya, and this is Aburame Seito." He pointed to the last boy. "They're pretty weird, but you get used to it." he smiled back at Natsumi to reassure her.

Kazuya stood and leapt over the pile of trash they created. He was a thin looking boy, not much meat on his bones, but his face was round and friendly. "Hello there! Welcome to Konoha! You're really pretty and you're hair reminds me of strawberries!" he declared, going wide eyed and placing his hand on his stomach. "Man I want some strawberries now…with some sugar. Oh! No chocolate covered! Yeah!" he smiled, rubbing the back of his head.

Seito stood as well, going over and giving her an excited smile. "Hi! Nice to meet you!" he greeted. "Do you like bugs?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. "Cause' I'll go catch you a butterfly if you want."

"What's a butterfly?" Natsumi asked innocently, appearing confused.

He gasped, and it was clear that behind his shades he was shocked. "What's a…how can you not…I will go get one!" he declared, pointing into the air before running off.

Seeing an opportune moment, Ken shot up and took Natsumi's free hand. "Beautiful Natsumi, I shall pronounce here and now, my undying love for you." He said, kneeling before her. "Will you marry me?"

Before she could even answer, Akito kicked him in the face, a frown on his own as Ken fell to the ground. "She's not marrying you. Idiot." He muttered.

"Yeah." Natsumi laughed. "If I'm going to marry someone it's going to be Akito. We're going to be together forever."

Akito blushed, his eyes wide at her statement. "We are?" he asked.

"You are?" Ken asked, seeming completely heartbroken. "Really?"

Seito ran back over to them then, his hands cupped together, enclosing something. "I have a butterfly!" he announced happily. When he stopped before them, his smile fell a bit as he took in everyone's expressions. "What's going on?"

"Oh wow!" Natsumi gasped, running over to him and ignoring his question as she looked to the beautiful insect once he opened them. "It's so pretty!"

"This is a butterfly." Seito said. "More specifically, a Papilio Machaon. There's many different breeds, actually, but I thought I'd catch one of the prettier ones." He smiled.

"How did you catch it so fast?" she asked, her excitement growing as she leaned closer.

His smile widened. "Because I am a bug master." He bragged, before leaning closer to her and whispering conspiratorially. "I speak to them."

"Okay." Akito stepped forward and grabbed Natsumi's hand, pulling her back a bit. "Don't freak her out."

"I'm not freaked out Akki." Natsumi laughed, looking up at him happily. "I think it's cool. It's like making tons of little friends.

Seito smiled brightly, letting the butterfly take off from his hands. "My thoughts exactly!"

Kazuya came up beside the bug clan heir. "Well it was really nice to meet you Natsumi. I hope to see you around. Maybe you can join us in an eating contest."

"Oh yes." She nodded, still shimmering from her lifted spirits. "I would very much like that."

Ken perked up at this. "That would be wonderful! Then our youthful acts would shine with your feminine exotic beauty!"

Akito's eyes narrowed at the other boy. "Yeah, well we'll talk to you guys later. I still have a lot to show Natty, and we have to get home in time for dinner." He told his friends, beginning to back up, lightly pulling Natsumi to follow him.

The pink haired girl waved to the three as she followed after Akito. "They were really nice! I think I'm going to be okay here."

"You'll be more than okay with me Natty." He nodded in assurance. "I will make sure that you're always happy."

Natsumi looked forward to the boy holding her hand, "I know you will."

They walked through the village then, until coming upon the famous Yamanaka flower shop. Thinking that Natsumi might want one, Akito led them inside, where Inuzuka Ino was, watching the store. With her was her two year old daughter, Yuri, who had short pale blonde hair tied back in a small ponytail on the top of her head, and blue eyes. There was also another girl in the store, looking at the flowers on display. Her hair was brown and just barely above her shoulders.

At the sound of the bell, she turned to see who else had entered, revealing a pair of icy blue eyes. She smiled at the sight of the Uchiha. "Hi Akito!" she greeted, before her gaze shot to Natsumi. It narrowed slightly, and some of the friendliness fell off of her face. "Why are you with her?" she asked, pointing at the pink haired girl.

Natsumi released Akito's hand and walked up to the girl, offering her hand to her. "Hi! I'm Natsumi. I just moved here." She told her. Ino looked over at the new customers and then down to the pink haired girl, her eyes widening. Yuri looked back, since she was sitting on the counter and giggled upon seeing Akito.

"Kiki!" she said happily, pointing towards the dark haired boy.

Akito smiled slightly and walked up to the counter, playing with the little girl a bit. "Hello Yuri."

Taka glanced at the Uchiha before looking to Natsumi. "I'm Taka." She said, shaking the girl's hand. She released it shortly after. "So why are you with Akito?" she asked.

"I live with him." she explained simply. "I just moved here from Suna. Sasuke brought me to live with him."

Ino cleared her throat, getting both girls' attention. "Natsumi," she said softly.

The pink haired girl's brow furrowed. "Do I know you?"

"No…" she shook her head and walked around the counter. "But I heard about you. Your mother was my best friend when we were younger and she lived here in Konoha."

"Oh." Natsumi blinked and then smiled. "It's nice to meet you."

Taka ignored all of this, instead running up to Akito, who was standing on his tip toes in order to tickle Yuri. "Why is she living with you?" she asked, appearing distressed. "Are you marrying her?"

Ino watched the young brunette and then looked back to the pink haired girl, whose glow only brightened. "Of course we are!" she said, answering for the dark haired boy. "We're going to be together forever."

"You can't be with Akito forever! I was going to be with Akito forever!" she said. Akito just rolled his eyes, stopping what he was doing in order to walk over to Natsumi.

"Natty, do you want a flower?" he asked her. "So we can put it on the kitchen table."

"Yes! We can pick blue ones! Because Sasuke likes blue." She turned to him, seeming to forget the girl altogether as she ran over to the mass of blue petals.

Taka just stood there in shock, her mouth hanging open. What was going on? Why was she living with _her_ Akito? And why wasn't Akito being mean to her like he was to all girls? Said Uchiha just walked over to help her pick out flowers. Taka began to freak out then, rambling on about how they couldn't be living together, and that it was just crazy. Her words were completely ignored by the other kids though, as they were engrossed in picking out the most perfect ones.

Once they had a nice bundle, Akito led Natsumi to the counter. He looked over at Ino, who was still watching the scene before her. "We're ready to make our purchase." He said, in the bored Uchiha fashion.

"Don't get snippy with me brat." She scolded, walking back over to the counter and picking up her daughter. "I may have tolerated that from your father a billion years ago, but you I will not. You are a good boy, and I expect you to behave and speak as such."

Natsumi snickered, covering her laugh with her hand as she looked over to Akito as if him being scolded was one of the funniest things in the world. He just sighed, that being the only sign that her words had even affected him. His eyes widened suddenly as Ino moved to ring everything up.

"Oh, hold on a sec." he said, before running over to a display of flowers. He grabbed a white lily, examining it and going back over to the counter. "This one too please." He said politely, carefully setting it on the counter.

"What's that one for Akki?" Natsumi asked curiously.

He looked at her and smiled. "For you. To put in your room." He explained.

A look of awe came to her face until she surprised him with a tight hug, burying her face into his shoulder. "Thank you." She mumbled into his shirt.

He returned her embrace, still smiling. "You're welcome."

"WHAT?" Taka screeched, stomping up to the two. "Why are you buying her a flower? Why is she even living with you? And _why_ are you being so nice to her? I want a flower too!" she stomped her foot. "You're acting strange Akito-kun!"

"Then just pick out a flower and I'll pay for it." he said simply, not releasing the girl in his arms. This seemed to placate the brunette, for she perked up and ran to grab an orchid from the bunch on display.

Natsumi finally pulled from his grasp, still looking at him with absolute affection. She glanced over at Taka when she came back with the flower and smiled. 'That's a pretty flower Taka."

"I know." She said simply, placing it on the counter. "Yours is pretty too." She conceded.

The pink haired girl turned back to Akito and smiled. "It is. Thank you so much Akito. We don't have a lot of flowers in Suna."

Ino sighed, taking the orchid and rolling her eyes. She could already see the feud between the two girls beginning. And she knew, she'd experienced the friendly rivalry between females first hand. And over an Uchiha nonetheless. "Alright Akito, it'll be ten dollars."

"Here Ino-san." He said, pulling the allotted money out of his pocket and setting it on the counter. "And thank you." He said politely, wanting to make up for his disrespect earlier.

"No problem. You have a good day sweetie. And say hi to your dad when he gets back from his mission." She smiled and wrapped up the flowers for him. She walked around the counter and handed him the bundle of blue and then gave each girl their respective flowers. "Now you take care of this little one." Ino gave him an endearing look as she pat Natsumi's head. "She's a very special little girl."

"I know." He smiled, grabbing the pink haired girl's hand. "Come on Natty, it's almost dinner time." He said, leading her from the shop.

"Alright." she said happily, following after him. "Bye Taka!" she waved as they headed out of the flower shop and back towards the Uchiha District. "Well that was a fun day."

Akito looked at her as they walked. "I'm glad I could cheer you up." He said, and then he remembered something that had been bothering him. "Natty, what did you mean earlier when you said that you would like to learn from Neji-san? Is he going to teach you how to use the Gentle Fist?"

"Huh?" she tilted her head to the side, looking off as she thought. "Oh no." she laughed. "He told me that if I ever wanted him to train with, or if I needed him for anything that I could go there, should you or Sasuke be too busy. I mean, I'm going to be a ninja too right? And I don't have your jutsu or abilities."

"I guess that makes sense." He conceded as they entered his clan's domain. They reached the house soon after, and Akito began to make dinner while Natsumi prepped the flowers to put in some water. "Hey Natty…do you really want to marry me?" He asked, looking over at her as he began to heat the noodles for spaghetti.

She got down from the table and sat in her chair. "Well you said we would be together forever." Natsumi smiled. "My mom and dad told that to each other all the time. And now they're both in heaven together. So that means you want to marry me."

His eyes widened at that. He hadn't thought about it that way. He _had_ said they would be together forever…and marriage did make sense. His mother and father hadn't ever gotten married, and they weren't together. Besides, he liked Natsumi, and at least this way the other village girls would leave him alone. "And you're okay with that?" he asked. "Marrying me, I mean."

"Why wouldn't I?" she smiled. "You take care of me and make me happy. Isn't that what husbands do for their wives?"

He returned her smile. "Yeah, it is." He said. He finished dinner shortly after, and they ate together pleasantly. Once that was done and they had finished the dishes, Akito dropped Natsumi off at her room before going into his own. He got ready for bed, before turning off the light and crawling into his bed. Snuggling into the sheets, he let out a sigh and closed his eyes, intent on falling asleep.

It was around fifteen minutes later when he heard his door slide open and then heard a voice from beside his bed. "Akito…" Natsumi sniffed. "I can't sleep."

He opened his eyes and sat up. "Are you scared?" he asked her.

She nodded, sniffing as she crawled up onto his bed with him, setting something flat and square on his lap. He looked down and could just barely make out in the darkness that it was a book. Knowing what it was she wanted, he leaned over and switched on the lamp by his bed. Then he picked up the book and opened it, before beginning to read. Natsumi snuggled against him, watching as he pointed to words as he spoke, so that she could learn what they were. And by the time the book ended, they were nearly asleep. Setting the book aside and turning off the light, he lay down and got comfortable, wrapping his arm around Natsumi's waist. "Night Natty." He sighed.

"Good night Akki." She smiled, snuggling into his warmth. "Thank you…"

"Anytime." He smiled, and soon the two were asleep.


	6. News

**Extermination**

_Chapter Six_

-News-

Sasuke had the distinct urge to bang his head against a wall as he sat in his study and stared at the mountain of paperwork he had to do. How he hated clan politics. Sure, he was now the Clan Head and whatnot, but he still had to deal with all of the other clans in the village, and since he was the only Uchiha, besides Akito, he was all alone when it came to negotiating and dealing with the old fuddy duddies that made up the other clans' advisors.

But he just had to stick it out for a few more years, because he already had a plan formed. When Akito and Natsumi were old enough, they would accompany him to the meetings. It didn't matter if Natsumi wasn't Uchiha by blood, she was part of his family now. She and Akito had grown extremely close over the past month, a fact that had been made known to him when he'd returned from his mission. He'd come back late that night, and had found the two sharing Akito's bed, curled against one another. He thought nothing serious of it though, because they were just children.

Speaking of them, he hoped they weren't playing too roughly in the backyard. He'd bought Natsumi her own set of plastic throwing kunai, and so she and Akito were out playing a game with them. Unless they had switched to playing tag, since both seemed to like racing and proving who was faster than the other. It reminded him of when he and Itachi had been kids, and Itachi would always run off to train in the forest and he would go chase him down.

But he digressed, he really needed to quit avoiding his work with thoughts about childhood and just get it over with. So, with a sigh, Sasuke picked up a scroll that had been deposited in his mailbox earlier that day, and opened it absentmindedly. He would just go through his mail first before getting to the serious stuff. As he scanned the contents of the letter, his eyes widened. He went back and read it again, not believing the news.

Toshiro had been found.

He took out a blank scroll and quickly scrawled a reply to Temari, filling her in on the basics of what had been happening over here, as well as telling her that she was more than welcome to bring Toshiro to Konoha to see Natsumi. He didn't want to take her all the way back to Suna after everything that had happened, especially since she was doing so well. That would just be cruel.

Once he was finished with that and had the letter in the mailbox, he made his way to the backyard, where he could hear laughter coming from both kids. He walked outside, and the sight that greeted him actually wasn't a surprise. For there were Akito and Natsumi, having a tickle fight in the middle of the sand box. Which only meant that sand was going to be tracked into his house one way or the other, and he would have to clean it up. Great.

"Akito. Natsumi." He said, getting their attention. They stopped what they were doing and looked up at him, their eyes wide in innocence.

"Yes Father?" Akito asked.

Sasuke's eyes never left the pink haired girl. "Dust yourselves off. Akito, pick up everything, I need to speak with Natsumi inside." He instructed.

Akito's face fell slightly at his task. "Yes Father." He sighed, standing and brushing the sand off of his body.

Natsumi did the same, standing up and holding her hands out, shaking them off as all the sand flew from her and fell to the ground. She was glad she was beginning to learn how to control the golden grains, because the first time they had tracked sand into the house, Sasuke was furious. Not wanting to keep him waiting, Natsumi ran across the yard and joined the elder Uchiha on the porch. "What is it Sasuke?"

"Come." He said, holding his hand out to her. She took it without question, and they went inside the house so that they could have some privacy. Then he turned to her and squat down so that they were eye level. "Natsumi, I got a letter today from your Aunt Temari." He began. "She found Toshiro, he's safe and unharmed. But she was unable to find Satomi." He waited to see what her reaction would be to this news.

The small girl's eyes widened. "My brother is okay?" she asked, smiling brightly. "I knew he was okay, just like Tomi."

Sasuke visibly showed confusion. How was it that she knew he was okay? Could it be that it was similar to him always knowing that Itachi was still alive? He didn't question it though, instead choosing to be thankful that she wasn't upset or anything. "I told Temari to bring him for a visit to see you, so he should be here within the next week or so."

"Is he going to come live here too?" she asked, only growing more excited. "I miss him so much! And you'll take care of him too right?" Natsumi babbled on, her aura seeming to intensify as her excitement grew. "Toshi's okay! And he's coming home!" she yelled, running back to the backyard to tell Akito.

"Akito!" she called, jumping off the porch and into the grass. "My brother is coming to stay!"

The young Uchiha simply stopped in his task and looked confused. "Huh?" he asked, looking from her to his father, who had come back outside as well.

"Natsumi, we don't know if he's staying or not." He told her, feeling bad that he had to diminish her newfound happiness. "We'll just have to wait until your aunt comes with Toshiro, okay?"

This made her stop and look back at the ebony haired man, "What?"

He walked out into the yard and stopped before her. "Although he probably will stay with us, I don't know what's happening in Suna right now to say that with certainty." he explained. "So I don't want you to get your hopes up, alright?" he asked.

"But why wouldn't my brother stay with me?" she demanded, her expression turning into something he hadn't seen in a long time. Anger.

"Because the Suna council members may not be willing to give up another of Gaara's children to Konoha." He elaborated. "It's all complicated politics, but they won't care that they'd be separating you. So I don't want you to think that he will be living with us until we know something for sure."

Akito looked from his father, to Natsumi, and then back, trying to understand everything that was going on. And honestly, he didn't want Natsumi's brother to live with them too. Then he would have to share, and she would give him less attention. And he liked having her all to himself. It was nice.

"But…" Natsumi trailed off once more, tears gathering in her eyes. "Why would they do that?"

Sasuke sighed, walking over to her and crouching before her. He reached out and wiped away one of her tears. "Because they only think about what benefits them, not what's right." he said, speaking from experience. "Don't get too upset about it Natsumi. Like I said, we don't know anything for sure yet."

"Okay." She nodded, sniffing loudly and attempting to wipe away the unshed tears. "I don't have to leave though, do I?"

Before Sasuke could even answer, Akito ran over and hugged the pink haired girl close to him. "I won't let you leave." He declared, not meaning to sound as possessive as he had. "I want you to stay."

Natsumi stayed against him, hugging him back around the waist and burying her face in his shirt. Sasuke stood and looked around the backyard, seeing that everything had been picked up. He looked back down at the other two then. "Do not fret too much over it. We'll deal with whatever happens next week when they arrive. For now, continue playing, I will come get you for dinner. We're going out." He said, before turning and heading back to the house. He figured they could all use a treat, not that Akito's cooking was bad or anything, but there were only so many things a five year old could make.

* * *

><p>"No Akito." Natsumi huffed, pushing his hand down from the easel and the white canvas that was perched on it. "That's not how you do it. You're making the dog look all lumpy and gross." She scolded, though it was not in a condescending matter. The young girl dipped her paintbrush into the brown and placed it against the paper, attempting to make a circle. "You see?"<p>

He frowned. "Well yours looks all funny. At least mine looked kinda cool." He pouted.

"It does not!" she protested, glaring over at him, her face turning red from her small little inner fit. "Mine looks cute. Yours is all fat."

"That is because mine eats little wimpy dogs like yours." He said. "So your dog better watch it." he began to move his paintbrush in the direction of the dog she had made.

Natsumi gasped. "It does not!" she yelled, hitting his hand with the paintbrush, causing it to fall to the floor. Both children went wide eyed. "Oh no!"

"Hide the evidence!" Akito ordered, running from the room as Natsumi hurried to collect the other supplies and cap them off. When Akito returned he had a wet towel in one hand and a dry one in the other. He tossed the dry cloth to Natsumi and bent over, hurrying to clean up the mess before it could do anything to the hardwood floor.

"Hurry!" Natsumi said softly, nervousness making her bounce. She kneeled down once he was finished and dried the floor. "Does it look like we spilled anything?" she asked him, looking over the spot.

Akito shook his head. "No, I think we got it. He'll never be able to tell." He assured her.

"What's going on." Sasuke demanded, though his tone was a bored one. Both children gasped and looked up at him, hiding the towels behind their backs.

"Nothing Father." Akito said, his eyes wide as saucers at his lie. "We were just playing."

Natsumi nodded in agreement. "Nothing Sasuke. We were just playing…" she repeated. "Playing wedding. Since me and Akito are going to get married." She elaborated in attempts to make it more believable.

The elder Uchiha raised a brow at her. "Oh you are, are you?" he asked, clearly not believing her. "Then where is the pretend wedding dress and tux? Or the flowers and rings?"

"We're using our imaginations." Akito supplied. "We didn't want to make a mess."

The pink haired girl nodded. "And Akito doesn't get to see me in my dress until we really get married."

"Uh huh." The ebony haired man said, nodding slightly. He didn't believe their lie for a minute. Especially because he could feel the fluxes in their chakra, something they wouldn't know how to control for a long time. "Well I'm going to be in my study." He said, turning to leave the room. Akito and Natsumi let out relieved breaths, thinking they had gotten away with their story. Until Sasuke spoke up once more. "Be sure to put those towels in the separate hamper, I don't want them to get paint on any of the clothes." He said, disappearing down the hall.

Both fell forward, groaning aloud. "Man…" Natsumi whined. Then they both heard the doorbell and perked up.

"I'll get it!" the two yelled. They glanced at one another, until Natsumi shoved Akito out of the way and laughed.

"Nope! I got it!" she called, running down the hall towards the door. Akito ran after her, and tackled her to the ground.

"No, I got it!" he said, getting off of her and using her moment of disorientation to run right up to the front door. He opened the door then, and was surprised by what he saw. Standing right in front of him was a boy that was a bit taller than he was, with bright red hair, and eyes that were a barely darker than Natsumi's. Behind him was a woman with dirty blonde hair that was tied into four ponytails.

But even though he had a pretty good guess on who they were, he stood there in shock, just staring at them. He didn't even acknowledge the sound of Natsumi running up behind him.

"Toshiro!" Natsumi gasped, running past Akito and hugging the older boy, whose expression turned into absolute bliss, a beautiful smile adorning his features.

"Natsumi!" he called back, hugging her tightly, both of them holding each other dearly.

The blonde woman smiled at the two, her loving gaze fixated on the pink haired girl. "Hello small one. How are you?"

Natsumi looked up and over her brother's shoulder, not releasing him. "Aunt Temari!"

Akito continued to watch the scene, feeling his jealousy rise at how quickly she could smile for this boy when it had taken him forever to get a smile as beautiful as that come to her face. Sasuke walked up behind his son then and took in the scene. He looked at Temari then. "Come inside." He said, grabbing Akito by the back of the shirt and moving him out of the way so that the other Sabakus could enter.

Temari did so, giving him a small nod before passing the two young ones and heading in. Natsumi finally released her brother and took his hand, pulling him inside with her. Once the door was closed she took a deep breath, laughing as she did so and pointed to Sasuke. "Brother this is Sasuke. He's been taking care of me while mommy and daddy are in heaven."

The young redhead looked up at Sasuke, smiling as well. "Thank you sir for taking care of my sister." He replied politely, making Temari giggle.

"It is no problem." The elder Uchiha said, slightly uncomfortable for the thanks. It was like they thought he was a good person or something. Ridiculous. "And just call me Sasuke." What, did they think he was old now too?

Toshiro nodded. "Okay."

Natsumi pulled her brother towards Akito then. "And this is Akito. He's been taking care of me too. We've been playing together every day and practicing."

"Hello." Toshiro waved, smiling at Akito and holding out his hand to him. "I'm Toshiro."

Akito almost didn't take his hand, but it would upset Natsumi, and his father would reprimand him. So he did. "Akito."

"I'm glad you've been taking care of my sister. It makes me feel better to know she's safe here with you." The redhead said truthfully, giving Akito a firm handshake.

Temari sighed contently before looking back to Sasuke. She frowned then, but tried not to let the children see it. "Sasuke…we need to talk."

He nodded. "We will do so in my study." He looked to Natsumi then. "Natsumi, why don't you show Toshiro your room and you can all play while Temari and I talk."

"Okay." she beamed.

"Actually," Toshiro interrupted, looking to his sister. "I wanted to talk to you too. Just me and you. Only for a little bit." He smiled at her when he saw her sad and confused expression.

Temari nodded. "Of course Toshiro." She said, watching the redhead pull his little sister towards the back door and disappear into the yard. The blonde sighed, shifting her gaze back to Sasuke. "That's the first he's smiled since I found him."

"Hn." Sasuke said, looking down to Akito, whose expression was anything but happy. "Akito," he said, getting the boy's attention. "Go and practice with your kunai. I'm sure Natsumi will find you when they are done."

"Yes Father." He said, turning and going down the hall towards the training room. The elder Uchiha motioned for Temari to follow him, and he led her into his study, where they would have privacy. He didn't even bother to sit down, since he knew this discussion probably wouldn't be long.

"I take it your news is anything but pleasant." He said, turning to face the blonde woman.

"The Suna council is throwing a fit." She told him, running a hand down her downcast face. "They are absolutely furious that Natsumi is here, and they want her back. I told them that it is clear Gaara left her to you, and that she will not be dragged back to that bloodbath she witnessed. No doubt that would fully cause her to snap." Temari sighed and hugged her arms around her waist. "When I found Toshiro, he didn't remember anything that had happened. He appeared fine, and when we got back and heard the news, he just went silent. He wouldn't eat anything until I told him that we were coming to see Natsumi."

"But…" she trailed off. "I tried to get them to allow Toshiro to stay here with his sister, but they won't have it. And I don't want to bring Natsumi back, but I can't bring Toshiro here. I just don't know what to do."

Sasuke thought about this, but couldn't really think of much of a solution. "Well it isn't really a surprise on how they are acting." He said. "And I agree, there's no way that Natsumi will be returning to Suna. Not after how long it's taken her to act the way a normal four year old girl should. Not to mention that Akito will have a fit. They've grown pretty close since her arrival." He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "Perhaps…we will just have to leave things the way they are. There's really nothing that Naruto can do, and simply arguing over it will just risk the start of war. And neither Toshiro nor Natsumi need to deal with that. Not after everything else."

Temari nodded, looking somber. "Though we may be looking at some trying times. With Gaara gone, that leaves a mess of alliances thrown up in the air. I will be taking on as Kazekage until Toshiro can take his place, but that will be a long time until then. All my brother's hard work might come tumbling back down."

"Naruto will help you to make sure that it doesn't." the Uchiha assured her. "It would be a ridiculous idea to try and change everything that Gaara built. He was the best Kazekage Suna ever had. I would go and visit him while you are here, and see what you can work out. Perhaps there is a way you can at least keep things with Konoha the way they are, or even improve them." He suggested. "And he will back you up on any decisions you make regarding your village."

"I know." She sighed, though there was pain evident in her gaze. "It's just so hard. It's like…while I was out looking for Toshiro, it hadn't even happened. But being there in Suna…without either of them…" the blonde trailed off, wiping away a stray tear. "I'm sorry." She laughed, though it was mostly to hide the sob that wanted to erupt. "I should compose myself better."

Sasuke lifted a shoulder in a shrug. It wasn't like he expected her to not be affected by her brother's death, or even Sakura's. The two had been good friends, after all. Not to mention she was a woman, and they were always emotional. Always. "Take however much time you need." He said. A thought occurred to him then and he frowned. "Does Toshiro know that he's not going to be allowed to stay with Natsumi?" he asked.

"Yes," Temari nodded, looking off towards the window in the study. "He knows he is not staying and he also knows that she is not coming back with us. He is under no disillusion of what the future holds for the two of them. He was upset at first, but when I told him she was staying with you, he seemed to calm down. Apparently he remembers you, and told me, 'so long as she's safe I'm alright with her being in Konoha' and then he dropped it altogether. I hope he's not like my brother in that aspect."

"We can only hope." The Uchiha sighed. "But if I remember correctly, he has a lot of Sakura in him. I think he will be fine."

Temari sighed and walked over to the window, pulling the curtain back that draped over the glass. She stared into the backyard, where Toshiro and Natsumi were sitting close together, both their faces more serious than she had ever seen. "I wonder what they are talking about."

Sasuke walked over and activated his sharingan, beginning to read their lips. "He's telling her that he won't be able to live with her here, and that she can't go back to Suna. But that he will visit as much as possible, and she shouldn't be sad." He deactivated his bloodline then. He looked at her. "At least we don't have to break the news to her now. I was wondering how to do that, actually." He admitted, since everyone knew he didn't handle emotions very well. His own or those of others.

"Yes…that's good." she said, moving away from the window once more. 'This visit won't be long. I will speak with Naruto tomorrow and then we will leave. Suna is in absolute chaos right now, I was reprimanded for even thinking of taking Toshiro at this time. But I knew it was necessary." Temari explained. "I can take him back to the hotel over night if you do not want more than the two you already have."

"No, he will stay here." Sasuke said. "He and Natsumi need all the time they can get."

"Alright then." The blonde looked back to the window. "I have some things to take care of, I'll be back for him tomorrow afternoon." She bowed to him before leaving the room and then the house altogether.

The Uchiha let out a sigh and moved to check on Akito. The Sabaku children would be fine in his backyard, and he felt that they would appreciate being left alone. Besides, Akito needed help with his kunai throwing.

* * *

><p>"Toshiro is staying over the night!" Natsumi beamed, running down the hall, dragging the redhead behind her. "Toshiro is staying the night!" she sang, as they came to her room. "You can stay in here with me Toshi, since I want to spend as much time with you as I can."<p>

Toshiro smiled down at his little sister and then around at the room. "Okay…sounds good."

Akito glared at the two of them, though it was mostly directed to the redhead. He didn't like this boy at all. He was taking away all of Natsumi's attention. Without even a word to either of them, he walked down the hall and into his room, closing his door so that he would be left alone.

Natsumi stopped, looking back at the closed door and frowned. "Hold on," she told her brother, running across the hall and knocking on the door. "Akito?" she asked through the wood. "Akito? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." His voice said through the door, though it was muffled.

She frowned. "Won't you come out and play with me and my brother?"

"…no."

"How come?"

"I don't want to." He said.

The small girl felt her heart throb and lowered her head. "Okay…" she pulled away then and walked back into her bedroom.

Toshiro watched her closely and once she was in front of him, held her face with his hand. "Everything alright?"

The sound of his voice seemed to break her from the trance she was in and she nodded, giving him a small smile. "Yeah…everything's okay."

Natsumi closed the door then and her and her brother played and read together until they heard Sasuke call them all for dinner. The two kids hurried down the hall and saw the elder Uchiha placing plates down of things that looked far too delicious to be his cooking. Natsumi giggled and climbed up into her chair. "Did you get takeout Sasuke?"

"Of course." He said, the corner of his lip lifting in a small smile. "I figured I would treat us all to dinner."

Akito entered the room then, appearing sullen and withdrawn. He sat down in his seat silently, and watched as his father set everything on the table.

The other two children watched him, Toshiro averting his gaze since he knew the behavior was because of him. Seeing this, Natsumi got down from her chair and went over to Akito's, grabbing a hold of his arm. "Big brother, I never got to tell you. Me and Akito are going to get married when we're older." She smiled, pulling the boy down slightly and kissing his cheek, which in turn made the redhead snicker. Akito's eyes widened, and a blush came to his face, the first emotion he had shown since Toshiro's arrival.

Sasuke shook his head. So they were still going on about that, huh? "Natsumi, please take your seat so that we can commence dinner." He directed. "You can tell Toshiro all about your wedding while we eat."

She nodded and hurried back to her chair, getting in it and smiling at the two. Toshiro smiled as well, since he could see the embarrassment still lingering on the young Uchiha's face. "If you are going to marry my sister, then you know it is your duty to protect her always. Correct?"

"Obviously." Akito muttered, picking up his fork and stabbing it into a random pile of food that was on his plate.

"Akito." Sasuke said in reprimand, glancing over at his son.

The young Uchiha sighed and looked back up at the redhead. "Yes. I have already told Natty that I will take care of and protect her for the rest of her life."

This only made the young man's smile widen. "That's good. It makes me feel much better to know she is safe with you." He nodded and then nodded in Sasuke's direction. "And you, I know if my father entrusted you with her, it is the correct way to go. I'm happy."

Natsumi giggled and began to get some food on her plate, her feeling of elation radiating off of her like sunlight. They continued to eat dinner then, with Natsumi and Toshiro supplying most of the conversation. And when that was done, Sasuke dismissed them all to get ready for bed, while he did the dishes. Not wanting to intrude upon the two sand siblings' time together, Akito retreated to his room once more. After actually spending some time with the redhead, he had to admit that the boy wasn't _as_ bad as he'd originally thought. And so, Akito didn't really have that much of a problem leaving the two to themselves. Besides, he would be leaving in a while, and then he would have Natsumi all to himself once more.

The two got ready for bed, since it was now late, and they brushed their teeth and changed into their pajamas. After everything was taken care of, the two climbed into bed and snuggled against one another, falling asleep, but not before allowing their sadness to finally resurface.

Sasuke waited a while before checking in on Akito, making sure that he was fine. Seeing that his son was fast asleep in his bed, he then checked on Toshiro and Natsumi. They were cuddled close together, and looking so peaceful, that it was as if nothing had happened to their family. Not wanting the light from the hall to disturb the sleeping siblings, he silently closed the door and walked down the hall to his own room, already thinking about what the next day would bring.


End file.
